


Save the Mayor

by aflawedfashion



Series: Moving Forward - Amanda & Irisa Post-Season 3 [3]
Category: Defiance (TV)
Genre: Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 13:48:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12170121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aflawedfashion/pseuds/aflawedfashion
Summary: When Amanda goes missing, it's up to Irisa to find her.





	Save the Mayor

As Irisa exited the Darby building, she tossed an uneasy glance towards Amanda’s office, willing Amanda’s thoughtful face to appear in the window, but she found nothing more than curtains billowing in darkness. With disappointment and worry eating away at her, she crossed her arms, turning to face the street.

Amanda had missed a town council meeting, leaving the mayor's abandoned office filled with people impatiently waiting until they grew worried enough to call Irisa to report her missing. Her allies urged Irisa to begin searching for her immediately. Her enemies rolled their eyes, hoping she had blown them off and they could use it against her in the next election.

Irisa knew this cruel world they lived in, and she knew Amanda. She couldn’t help but fear the worst. Horrifying scenarios payed in her head. Amanda would never miss a meeting without telling anyone why.

And she had told _no one._ Irisa had called every person Amanda cared about, a decidedly small group of people, and not one of them had heard from her since the day before.

Her staff hadn’t seen her all day.

Her apartment was empty.

The mayor had disappeared without a trace.

Irisa reassured herself that it hadn’t been long. There was still time before this became a full-blown crisis, and it was Irisa’s job to find Amanda as quickly as possible, not only her job but her responsibility as Amanda’s lawkeeper and friend. Amanda was the closest thing to family Irisa had left, and she wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.

The square buzzed with afternoon shoppers, but Irisa wished she could silence every person around her. She wanted to shout that their mayor was missing, that they had no reason to be so happy. It would instantly shut them up, but it would cause a panic she couldn’t afford, so she bit her tongue, trying desperately to find her own thoughts through the noise.

Irisa’s thumb pressed Amanda’s number on her hailer for the 14th time, knowing with absolute certainty that no one would answer. Irisa didn’t bother to wait for a response. She let the hailer buzz in her hand as her eyes scanned the bustling crowd around her, hoping for a glimpse of Amanda’s telltale blonde braid, hoping to squelch the worry building in the pit of her stomach. 

She failed.

Irisa shoved the hailer back in her pocket, planning to wait 10 minutes and try again. Even though she knew Amanda wouldn't answer, calling Amanda made Irisa feel productive. It was better than feeling helpless. For better or worse, Amanda could be anywhere in Defiance, and Irisa couldn’t waste another minute standing immobile and useless in the street.

With her mind racing to form a plan, Irisa ducked into the alley leading to the back entrance Amanda used when she didn’t want to be noticed. It was the only way she would have gotten out of the Darby building without someone seeing her.

Reaching the door, Irisa walked in a slow circle, hunting for any sign of Amanda - a footprint left behind from a wedge heeled boot, a fallen coffee mug, anything. But there was nothing. So many people walked this street, leaving behind marks of life. She didn't see anything distinctly Amanda.

As Irisa fought back tears of frustration, wishing she had her father and his expert tracking skills to help her, she spotted something in the gravel a few feet away. She kicked away the dirt and stones to reveal the words “Property of the Mayor” embossed on the cover of a folder.

She flipped it open, hoping for a name or location, but the folder was empty. Irisa took a deep breath, pulling herself together, clearing her head. It wasn’t hopeless. She would find Amanda. With a trail to follow, she had something to focus on other than her feelings of fear and inadequacy.

Ducking under trees and stepping over fallen branches, she followed the trail, not knowing if she was heading towards Amanda or if she was simply following an innocent farmer back to his field.

Her path became increasingly narrow until she arrived at a large yard overflowing with vegetation. She effortlessly climbed over the iron front gate, not wanting the door’s unoiled hinges to reveal her presence. With a crunch beneath her boots, she landed on the ground. She lifted her foot, revealing a pile of tiny, broken bird bones. An involuntary shiver coursed through her body, the sharp cries of the birds in the trees seeming to judge her for destroying the remains of one of their own.

“Sorry,” she muttered under her breath, grimacing as she glanced at the trees.

Her heart beat faster as she became aware of how far from society she had walked. She ran her fingers across the tips of her knives, taking comfort in knowing she could defend herself. The kind of person who left a dead bird to waste away on their walkway wasn’t likely to be a jolly farmer who would welcome her with open arms.

As she made a failed attempt to ignore her fear and force herself to approach the house, she heard voices. “Amanda,” she whispered, her feet carrying her towards the sound before her fears could protest.

Amanda’s tone was unnervingly desperate, but Irisa couldn't make out more than a few muffled words. “Look… I… not…” There was a hint of defiance in her voice, like she was losing a fight even though she knew she was on the right side.

Irisa followed the sound of Amanda’s voice, trying to ascertain who had Amanda and how much danger she would be in when she tried to get her away from them. She walked at a slow, deliberate speed that was quickly abandoned when she heard the unmistakable sound of a body slamming against a wall, a sound she knew too well from years of fighting for her life in the badlands.

Irisa rushed forward, her legs moving faster than her mind, Amanda’s words growing clearer with every step.

“I just don’t understand what you want from me,” Amanda yelled.

“It’s simple.” Irisa didn’t recognize the deep voice.

“Let's go back to my office, and we’ll talk.” Amanda had steadied her voice, but her fear was evident.

“No,” he growled.

Amanda gasped, a truncated scream escaping from her throat.

Irisa pulled her knife out of her holster as she turned the corner and found Amanda pinned against a wall, a man’s arm pressed against her throat. Her knuckles shone white as she tried to tear the man off of her.

Without pausing, without thinking, Irisa yanked the man away from Amanda with every ounce of her strength and slid the knife across his throat. Blood dripped from her knife and poured from his throat as he fell to his knees while grasping at his wound. Shock written on his face, he opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. The only sound Irisa heard was Amanda’s deep, rapid breaths.

Irisa met Amanda’s gaze, not wanting to watch the man die. She took no pleasure in his death.

“Are you ok?” Irisa asked, searching Amanda for any sign of injury.

“Fine.” Amanda’s voice shook as she turned her eyes towards the man’s body.

“Who was he?”

“I don’t know.” Amanda kept staring at the man, but Irisa didn’t take her eyes off Amanda’s face. “He wanted me to do something, get him money. A ransom maybe. I don’t know.”

Irisa nodded.

“I don’t know,” Amanda softly repeated as she slowly shook her head. She stared at him like he could reveal something in death, her eyes unblinking, unmoving. “I just don’t know.”

“Might never know now, not unless he has an accomplice.”

“It was just him.” Amanda’s breathing steadied as she crossed her arms to hide her trembling hands.

With the adrenaline leaving Irisa's body, the reality of what she had done sank in. Irisa prepared herself for tears of remorse or regret. It had been a long time since she had been able to kill with a clear conscience, but her eyes were dry. She understood she had done the right thing. She had saved someone she loved.

“Thank you,” Amanda said, squeezing Irisa’s hand before re-crossing her arms. “You just saved my life.”

Irisa let the tension leave her body, a proud smile on her face as she struggled to find the right words. “Just doing my job,” she said. Those weren’t the right words. They didn’t even begin to encompass how she felt.

“And you’re doing it well,” Amanda said through a shaky smile as she wrapped her arm around Irisa’s back, squeezing her against her side. “I knew I was right about you. I knew I could trust you with that badge.”

“You’re not going to turn me saving your life into a story about how you were right, are you?” Irisa asked as she let Amanda lead them forward, trying to mask the emotion in her voice with humor.

The remaining unease left Amanda’s eyes as she chuckled under her breath. “I would never. You deserve all the credit, kid. I’m just glad I have you.”

“Thank you,” Irisa said, trying not to cry over Amanda calling her “kid.” They both knew the significance of that deceptively small word.

“Let’s go home.”

“I just need to do one thing first,” Irisa said, walking towards the front gate.

“What?”

“I need to bury a bird.”


End file.
